1. He matured Scully and Mulder. Having ended the X-files series with Mulder as a fugitive, he couldn't just pick up where they left off. In the latest movie, Mulder and Scully have both "moved on" from the FBI over a few years, but Mulder has sunk into an almost scary isolation. Scully and Mulder also have to deal with some baggage from the loss of their son, William, and the strains of their now separate lives.
2. He let the actors interact in new ways. Scully forces Mulder to choose at one point between her and the mystery he's now pursuing -- something she never did in the TV show. Also, they both have to decide how to make their relationship work.
3. He didn't repeat himself. The new plot is like a stand-alone extended episode with creepy parts and some references to current anxieties like stem-cell research. But it is interwoven with the complex relationship scenes between Scully and Mulder, and the plot isn't at all like the previous movie. I think this is a good thing. Also, it's not easy to guess where the plot is heading based on the first scene.
4. He didn't give the audience everything it wants. With a show as popular as the X-files, you can't possibly please everybody. Trying to do so would lead to creative confusion. This X-files, appropriately, deals primarily with the relationship between Scully and Mulder, but it isn't a feel-good relationship all the time. There's tension there, and some meat for the actors to put on their characters. Still, there is the reward of seeing the characters develop.
5. He let the audience decide what it "wants to believe" in the end. One of the main plot points isn't answered at the end, but I'm okay with that. It gives the audience something to think about.
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